BRAZIL has approved the commercialization of a genetically modified sugarcane, developed by the Brazilian sugarcane breeding and technology company, Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira (CTC).
This is the first time such permission has been granted any-where in the world. The approval came from the National Technical Biosafety Com-mission (CTNBio). The GM sugarcane contains the gene Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), widely used in other crops. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]
The new variety is resistant to cane borer (Diatraea saccharalis), and known locally as ‘broca-da-cana’, one of the main bedevils in Brazil’s sugarcane fields.
It is estimated that the damages caused by cane borer could accumulate to five billion reais ($1.52 billion) annually.
Chief Executive Officer Gustavo Leite told Reuters in an interview that it would take at least three years for the first shipments of sugar produced from GM crops to reach export markets because of the pace of propagation of new cane varieties.
Given the characteristics of the crop, this may take ten years to achieve, he said.Unica.com, Brazilian Sugar-cane Industry Association news site reports that the extensive scientific dossier, which evaluated the genetically-modified sugarcane (GM), was submitted to CTNBio at the end of 2015 for the assessment of health and environmental safety using inter-nationally-accepted standards.
The site also reports that pro-cessing studies proved that the sugar and ethanol obtained from the new variety are identical to those products derived from conventional sugarcane.
Studies additionally showed that both the Bt gene and protein found in CTC 20 BT sugarcane are completely eliminated from sugarcane derivatives during the manufacturing process.
Further, environmental studies did not find any negative effects on soil composition, sug-arcane biodegradability, or insect populations, with the exception of the target pests (mainly the borer).
Brazil exports sugar to about 150 countries and 60 per cent of them do not demand regula-tory approval to import sugar made from genetically modified organisms.
According to Reuters, Leita said that in the future CTC, majority owned by firms including Copersucar SA and Raízen Energia SA, intends to introduce traits that will make sugarcane tolerant to another insect and a herbicide.
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